Safety winch



Oct. 17, 1950 J. M. BENSON 2,525,764

@MSLMW ct. 17, 1950 J, M, BENSON l 2,525,764

SAFETY WINCH v Filed May 28. 1946 44 Sheets-Sheet 2V v Il Menaon .1. M. BENSON ocr. 17, 195o" SAFETY WINCH 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 28. 1946 J. M. BENSON Oct. 11, 195o SAFETY WINCH 4 Sheets-Sheet.. 4

Filed may 28. 194e N c/fBen/son grwwvbo@ Patented Oct. 17, `1950 SAFETY WINCH Jesse M. Benson, Concord, Tenn., assignor to Sasgen Derrick Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application May 28, 1946, Serial No. 672,781

(Cl. 25d-186) 4 Claims.

This invention relates to Winches and is an improvement over the construction embodied in my prior patents, No. 2,083,489, dated June 8, 1937, and No. 2,243,789, dated May 27, 1941, for Winches.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved winch embodying a safety brake construction which will automatically lock the Winding drum against unwinding if the winding crank should be released.

Another object of this invention is to provide a winchl of this type which is` so constructed that the torque caused by the unwinding of the drum secured at one end in a bushing II carried by a standardl I2. The opposite end of theshaft Il) is secured by means of a fastening member I3 in a bushing Ill carried by a gear housing generally designated as iti. A winding drum l5 `is rotatably mounted `oncshaft ill and includes a cylindrical body Ii, having an annular flange or end wall i3 at one end thereof, and a bearing boss or bushing I@ extending interiorly of cylindricalbody il. The drum iiialsoincludesa'noppositeend wall 2li, and a second bearing boss or bushing 2l extends inwardly from end wall 23 and interiorly of cylindrical body Il. The body I l has removably mounted therein a threaded plug 22, by

means of which a lubricant may be discharged interiorlyof the body i7 for maintaining constant lubrication of the bearings I9 and 2 I. The standi ard I2 is held in spaced apart relation with reing type which also includesmeans whereby the automatic braking means may be disengaged and the unwinding of the drum controlled by a hand operated brake of conventional construction.

To the foregoing objects, and others which may hereinafter more fully appear, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will be more speciiically referred to and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it is to be understood that changes, variations, and modifications may be resorted to which fall within the scope oi the invention as claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 isa detail side elevation of a winch constructed according to an embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken either on line 2-1 of `Figure 1 or line 2-2 of Figure 3.

, Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the fil-fl of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional View taken o n ,the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a `fragmentary sectional view taken on the line `(i---l of Figure 1. H

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l0 designates a stationary :horizontal shaft `which is line spect to the housing I5 by means of a pair of tubular spacing members 22 and 23, which engage about bolts 24 and 25, respectively.

End wall 2o of drum It has formed integral therewith an annular flange or brake drum 26 extending `in the direction of gear housing I5, and the interior of flange 2t is formed with gear teeth 2l. A brake band 2t, having a braking element 2Q secured. to the inner side thereof, is disposed about the brake drum 2E, being secured at one end to. fastening member 2li and the opposite end of band is secured as at 25ct to an eccen tric iii, which is rockably carried by the fastening member 25. The free end of band 28 is reverted or bent upon itself to form an eye 3l, and

the eye 3l is split as indicated at 32 for receiving the eccentric 3d. Eccentric it has fixed thereto a brake operating lever which extends upwardly and is adapted to be rocked outwardly, or to the left, as viewed in Figures 4 and 6, to bring the braking member 29 into braking position against the periphery of brake drum or flange 26. This braking means provides a conventional hand operated braking means whereby drum i6 may be braked in its unwinding operation independent of the automatic locking means to be hereinafter described.

VHousing I5 comprises an outer wall :it formed of a substantially 'circular flange 35 and an inner wall :i6 secured to the flange by fastening inem-- bers 37. The inner wall 36 includes an inwardly projecting arcuate wall 38 extending interiorly of brake drum 25 and a wall is `carried by ar cuate wall 33, and is positioned parallel to the inner wall or flange 2i? of drum i5. An idling gear or pinion lll is rotatably carried by a shaft di, engaging through walls 3B and 39 and is adapted to mesh with the internal gear 2 formed in the braking drum 26. A sun gear 4.2 is rotatably carried by stationary shaft Eil, and is adapted to mesh with intermediate or idling gear 4i). 'Sun gear l2 has formed integral therewith a hub 43, which is formed with exterior threads lili. A gear 115 having internal threads 135 is threadably mounted on threads dll of hub i3 and constitutes a high ratio gear for rotating sun gear 42. A large gear di, including a web dit, is welded to, or otherwise fixedly secured to, gear 45 and the web 48 constitutes one element of a braking means as will be hereinafter described.

Hub 43 at its inner end has formed integral therewith a plate :i9 constituting another element of a braking means which is rotatable with gear 42. A braking plate 55 is loosely mounted on the inner end of hub 43, being interposed between plate or web 48 and plate 49. The opposite faces of plate 56 have secured thereto braking means i and 52, so as to provide the necessary friction for holding plates 48 and i9 against rotation. The outer margin of plate 55 is formed with ratchet teeth 53 with which a spring pressed dog 54, carried by a shaft 55, is adapted to engage. Dog is adapted 'to normally hold plate 55 against rotation in an unwinding direction while permitting free rotation of this plate in a direction to wind a cable or other flexible member on drum 16. Dog 54 includes a handle 55, having a laterally projecting lug 5I formed integral therewith and one end of a spring 5B engages lug 5i' and the other end of spring 58 is xed to thewall 35,'being positioned 'to normally hold dog 5t in either ratchet engaging or in released position.

A second dog 55 is rockably mounted on shaft 55 and is adapted to engage the teeth of low speed gear fil. Dog 59 is constructed similar to dog 54 and includes a handle 5i), having a laterally projecting lug 5l with which one end of a spring 52 is connected. The other end of spring 62 is connected to an eye 63 carried by the front or outer wall 34 of housing i5. Spring G2 is adapted to hold dog 59 in either engaging or released position, and is so positioned as to permit free rotation of gear 41 in a drum winding position, while holding drum l5 against rotation in an unwinding direction.

In order to provide for rotation of drum l5 to wind a cable thereon, I have provided a driving gear 54 which is carried by a removable stub shaft 55. Housing i5 is formed with a pair of cylindrical bushings 65 and 5l? in a selected. one of which shaft 65 is adapted to be positioned. Bushing 56 is positioned innermost for holding shaft 65 so that gear 54 will engage with gear 45, whereas bushing 5i' is positioned for holding shaft 65 so that gear 54 will engage the teeth of gear 4I. Shaft 55 is releasably locked in either bushing 65 or 6'! by means of a locking pin 58, which loosely engages through bushings E55 and 51, and is formed at its outer end with a handle 69. Shaft 55 is formed with a peripheral groove 'lll within which pin 58 is adapted to engage, and pin 58 is formed with a pair of arcuate cutouts 'Il and l2, so that when handle 59 is raised upwardly the two cutouts il and 'i2 will be lowermost and shaft 55 may be withdrawn from either one of the bushings.

Shaft 55 at its outei1 end is formed with a head 73 which is larger in diameter than the diameter of shaft 55, so that head 'i3 will substantially bear against the outer end of either bushing 66 or 61. 'Head 'i3 is formed with a diametrical opening 'i4 through which a lever 15 loosely engages, and lever 'I5 is secured in adjusted position with rspect to head 13 by means of a set screw 76. One end of lever I5 has a right angularly disposed crank handle 1'! secured thereto so that shaft 65 may be manually rotated. The provision of set screw 16 and the adjustable mounting of lever 15 in head 'I3 provides a means whereby the leverage for rotating shaft 65 may be adjusted within the limits of the length of lever or bar 15.

In order to provide means for limiting the outward movement of gear on hub 43, a collar 18 is threaded onto hub 43 and engages in a recess 19 formed in an offset hub member or bushing B0 carried by end wall 34. Collar 'I8 is adapted to be locked on hub 43 by means of a set screw El.

In the use and operation of this winch shaft 65 Vmay -be inserted in either bushing 66 or 61. As

disclosed in Figure 2, shaft is locked in bushing and engages high speed gear e5. As shaft 55 is rotated in a clockwise direction, drum l5 will be rotated thro-ugh the gear train to wind the cable thereabout. As gear 45 is rotated by gear 64, gear 45 will partly rotate on hub 43 in an unthreading direction and will bear against fixed collar 18. With gear 45 bearing against collar 'i8 brake element 48 will be disposed in spaced relation with respect to braking plate 5S which is loose on hub e3. At the time gear 45 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction with gear 64 rotating clockwise, dog 59 will ride over the outer teeth of gear 47. Inasmuch as clutch plate or web 43 is disengaged from clutch plate 50, the clutch formed by the plates 48, 49 and 5G will be disengaged.

In the event that the torque on drum IB should cause rotation of this drum in an unwinding direction, gear 42 will be rotated in a clockwise direction, and as gear 47 is held against rotation in a clockwise direction by dog 58, gear 45 will be threaded inwardly or forwardly on hub 43 so as to bring clutch plate 48 into engagement with plate 59, and the latter will engage clutch plate 45, which is Xed with respect to gear 32. Drum I5 will thereby be locked against reverse or unwinding rotation and the torque or force of the unwinding rotation will be disconnected from shaft 55 and crank handle TI. It will, therefore, be apparent that if crank handle 'l1 should suddenly be released during the winding operation, drum i5 would immediately become locked against unwinding.

In order to permit the unwinding of drum I6, it is necessary that shaft 55 be rotated in a counterclockwise direction at a speed sufficient to move gear i5 to the right, as Viewed in Figure 3, and maintain clutch plate 48 in disengaged position. This reverse rotation of shaft 65 is e'ected` without any of the torque or force of drum I6 being communicated to the crank, so that this crank may be freely rotated in a reverse direction at the desired speed in order to control the reverse or unwinding rotation of drum I6.

If it is desired to permit free rotation of drum i6 in an unwinding direction, dogs 54 and 55 may be rocked upwardly to their released position, and crank ii'i may then be used to regulate thereverse rotation of the drum. Shaft 65 may be inserted in either bushing 65 or 61 depending on the desired speed of rotation of drum I6, Enghien is to be effected by rotation of drive shaft This improved winch provides a safety factor through the automatically operated clutch which Will automatically prevent unwinding rotation of drum I6, and the Winch embodies an exceedingly compact gear and clutch construction which will permit of a strong winch being provided in a relatively small size. It will, of course, be understood that this winch may be made in any desired size, but the gear and clutch construction is such as not to unduly increase the size of the structure.

What I claim is:

l. A Winch comprising a stationary shaft, a windingdrum rotatable on said shaft, a gear housing secured to one end of said shaft, a ring gear fixed relative to said drum, a sun gear rotatable on said shaft, an intermediate gear rotatably carried by said housing and meshing With said sun and ring gears, a threaded hub xedly carried by said sun gear, a high speed gear threadably engaging said hub, a brake plate carried by said sun gear, a second brake plate carried by said high speed gear, an inter-mediate brake member rotatably carried by said hub and disposed between said first and second brake plates, `peripheral teeth carried by said intermediate brake plate, a pivoted pavvl engaging said teeth for holding said intermediate plate against rotation in a drum unwinding direction, a low speed gear carried by said second brake plate, a driving gear, and means carredby said `housing supporting said driving gear for selective engagement with said high and low speed gears.

2. A winch as set forth in claim 1 including a manually operable brake band encircling said Aring gear,

3. A Winch as set forth in claim 1 including a pivoted pavvl carried by said housing engageable with said 10W speed gear to hold said low and high speed gears against reverse rotation.

4. A winch comprising a stationary shaft, a Winding drum rotatable on said shaft, a gear housing secured to one end of said shaft, a ring gear xed on said drum, a sun gear rotatable on said shaft, a geared connection between said ring and said sun gear, a threaded hub on said sun gear, a brake plate on said hub, a high speed gear threadably engaging said hub, a brake plate carried by said high speed gear, an intermediate gear having braking surfaces thereon rotatable about said hub between said` first and second brake plates, means engaging said intermediate gear for holding said intermediate `gear against rotation in a drum unwinding direction, and

means for rotating said high speed gear about said shaft whereby said drum will not unwind at a speed greater than the speed of the high speed gear in a drum unwinding direction.

JESSE M. BENSON.

REFERENCES CITED The'follovving references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

